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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23013961">a morning destined for so much more</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_strangest_person/pseuds/the_strangest_person'>the_strangest_person</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Treacherous Hopes [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awkward Conversations, Communication, Declarations Of Love, Emotional, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Holding Hands, I Made Myself Cry, I promise it's fluffier, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Sequel, Shirbert, sorting these idiots out</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:13:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,440</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23013961</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_strangest_person/pseuds/the_strangest_person</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>MAKE SURE TO READ THE FIRST PART BEFORE THIS<br/>(I promise that these idiots sort themselves out, much fluff)</p>
<p>~ anne and gilbert finally have THAT conversation and sort their feelings out after arguing ~</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Treacherous Hopes [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653115</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>247</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a morning destined for so much more</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>dedicated to all of you who cursed me in the comments of the first part, I promise I always give happy endings after tons of angst and this ends up being fluffier than I imagined </p>
<p>(SEQUEL OF a dark night destined for heartbreak)</p>
<p>p.s. please check out my other one shots and stories surrounding these dorks! (I promise they are all fluffier than this)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Neither of them could fall asleep that night.</p>
<p>The moment right before sleep would pull her under, into the land of dreams, his face flickered through her mind, streaked with tears. He had only let her see him cry once, eyes lost in a sea of merciless waves desperate to pull him under and back then, she held him in her arms and tried to anchor him. But she lay awake that night, twisting and turning with her pillow over her head, knowing that she couldn't comfort him like before. <em>This time, she was the one who broke his heart. </em>Only a few acres of land away, Gilbert was staring at his own ceiling, wondering how he could have got it all so wrong. He was such a fool, allowing himself to believe for a moment that he owned a place in her heart, that he hadn't just been imagining whatever was between them. With messy hair and frantic fingers, the pair tore their belongings apart the next morning, looking for any kind of sign that all of <em>this</em> was worth fighting for. Gilbert kept a tight grip on the ring between his fingers, looking down at it with pain in his eyes, knowing that it could never belong on another finger. He placed it gently back in his wooden box, hurrying towards the kitchen to fix everything before it was too late. Anne's fingers were shaky but something steadied them as she found the small red book, a dictionary that somehow held all of the answers.</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>So you can beat me fair and square - Gilbert. </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>As her thumb ran over the dried ink, it felt like just yesterday that she opened the gift with curious hands and a strange heat in her cheeks. She laughed under her breath, pushing the forbidden thoughts to the back of her mind before she placed it back under the tree. At sixteen years old, Anne's eyes filled with tears as she looked down at the words, wondering if her feelings really had been hiding in plain sight all those years ago. With a small sniff, she wondered if it went back as far as desperately wanting to hold onto Gilbert's letter, to the heaviness within her chest when she looked out at the horizon, wondering if many miles away, he was looking right back at her. Or perhaps they were hidden between spelling bees and longing gazes, the stiffness in her body when Ruby dreamed of a future with him and perhaps so many years later, Anne was finally realizing why it always felt so <em>wrong</em>.</p>
<p>"Anne?"</p>
<p>She rushed past Marilla with fire in her eyes, brown skirt flying up as she headed for the door, "I have to visit Aunt Jo, it is of upmost importance!"</p>
<p>Marilla frowned, "You're not going anywhere without breakfast!"</p>
<p>Anne groaned, "Marilla, please-"</p>
<p>"You can sit down and eat the entire bowl, and then you may visit whomever you please. What's got you in such a state this morning?"</p>
<p>Her hands reluctantly grasped the bowl that was laid out on the table, perching quickly and taking quiet spoonfuls. She purposely avoided the question, looking down at her bowl and taking swigs of her milk for strength that she may have needed anyway. Marilla's eyes narrowed with concern as she took in her appearance, dark eyes from staying out late and her braids were slightly uneven, one larger than the other as if she had tied them with her eyes closed. "Anne, what is it? Didn't you have <em>fun</em> last night?"</p>
<p>She shakily put down her spoon, swallowing the lump in her throat, "...Marilla, I-I...I think I've made a big mistake."</p>
<p>"What kind of mistake?"</p>
<p>Her voice was barely a whisper, <em>"...with Gilbert."</em></p>
<p>As soon as the words left her lips, more tears filled her eyes and she tried to blink them away before Marilla took notice. But as she put her bowl back down on the table, breakfast forgotten at the heaviness within her heart, she couldn't help but let one escape the corner of her eye. Sturdy arms wrapped around her frame that had never felt so small, and although Marilla didn't know what to say, her embrace alone made her shoulders feel lighter. Anne sniffed into her shoulder, hands limp within her lap as if she couldn't bear to move and Marilla started to worry. She had seen the pair together for many years, dancing around with awkward eye contact and fond smiles, not seeing what was right in front of them. It was the kind of future that Marilla could see from the first day, a strange feeling blooming whenever she thought of Anne ending up with someone who wasn't Gilbert Blythe.</p>
<p>"What happened?" she finally asked in a careful voice.</p>
<p>Anne squeezed her eyes shut but his pained expression was still on her mind, haunting her like a ghost, "...He...He came to the ruins where we were celebrating and he asked me...", she took a deep breath and met Marilla's raised eyebrows, <em>"...he asked me to tell him to not marry her...to not marry Winifred."</em></p>
<p>Marilla let out a breath, "I see."</p>
<p>"Don't..." Anne tried to search her face, wiping her wet cheeks, "...don't you want to know why?"</p>
<p>A knowing smile was given in return, <em>"I think I can guess."</em></p>
<p>"I just...I was so surprised and so confused, I'm <em>still</em> confused and I-I didn't know what to say. I...I couldn't ask him to give up a future, her parents had given him permission to propose and offered to pay for his education and Marilla...I could never compete with that! I-I don't even understand what I'm feeling and so I..." her face nearly crumbled, "...I-I told him to marry her."</p>
<p>Marilla rubbed her back gently, "Do you want him to marry her?"</p>
<p>Her voice was weak, <em>"I think it would break my heart."</em></p>
<p>After a few moments silence in the kitchen, a sigh was heard and their eyes met once more. Her fingers pushed a stray of red hair away from Anne's face, voice serious as she asked, "Why did you need to see Miss Josephine?"</p>
<p>Anne stumbled over her words, a reason that suddenly felt pointless, "I-I...I wanted her advice, I wanted to wrap my head around it and-"</p>
<p><em>"Anne..."</em> her voice was soft but her eyes were stern, "...I know that last night can't have been easy for either of you and...you said some things that you didn't necessarily mean. But I think that seeing Miss Josephine and talking about it with other people, it's just another excuse. You might not be ready to deal with it but every time that you avoid it, things will only get worse...and I think it's time you two stopped making excuses. I know it may be easier to just pretend that it didn't happen but the person that you really need to speak to...<em>is Gilbert."</em></p>
<p>Her head hung miserably, "I...I don't know if I can face him."</p>
<p><em>"You, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert",</em> her chin was lifted up and she was met with such a certain gaze that she almost started to believe it herself, "...can face <em>anything."</em></p>
<p>She kept the words tucked right beside her heart, hoping that they would stop her from turning right back around to Green Gables. The short walk between their homes somehow felt like it went on forever, each step like walking through sticky mud, her head hanging low and Anne wondered if she looked as small as she felt. When she finally saw the Blythe farm in front of her, a smile fell upon her lips as she remembered the days that she spent there : babysitting Delly, baking treats, spending the last few days with Mary. It was a place that always felt like home to her, somewhere that she would be safe and loved by those around her. But as she approached the steps, she had never felt so lost. It took her all the way back to before she had her sense, her small hands pounding on the door in the hopes that they could form some kind of truce. Perhaps she had been searching for something more but was stopped by the empty house, the disappointment carried around for weeks before she would see him again. There had always been an undeniable force pushing her towards him, an arrow that spun around wildly for many years until she realized what direction it was pointing her in - <em>to him, always to him.</em></p>
<p>Bash smiled at her as he opened the door, but she could not find it within her to smile in return. "Anne, to what do I owe this pleasure?"</p>
<p>Her voice shook. "I-Is Gilbert here?"</p>
<p>She received a casual nod, his back turning slightly so that he could call up the stairs to his brother who had not yet come down for breakfast. When Bash's gaze settled back on Anne and saw her chin wobbling at the approaching footsteps, the color began to drain from his face and he started to notice that something wasn't right.</p>
<p>Her heart stuttered to a stop as soon as she saw him entering the kitchen. His appearance was messy like hers : top two buttons undone, suspenders looser than usual, curls that had not yet seen a comb. His dark circles matched hers but when their eyes met across the room, she - <em>god, his face</em>. It was an echo of the previous night and she had to bit her lip to stop herself from blubbering like a baby. Not only did it hurt to see him looking so upset, but she could suddenly hear his broken voice playing in her head on repeat - <strong><em>yeah, me too</em></strong>. She wondered if he could hear her own voice in his mind, whether he had stayed up all night replaying the same conversation, the exact moment that she broke his heart. Although his eyes still called out for her, his body was closed off. The veins in his forearms bulged as he crossed his arms over his chest, shoulders tense and jaw locked into place - defense mechanisms. It made her want to fall down to her knees, beg for his forgiveness and use all of the beautiful words in the dictionary that he gave her, just so he would understand what a fool she was. He was preparing himself for more of her harsh words and it broke her heart to know what he expected of her. After all, she couldn't blame him.</p>
<p>Bash seemed to notice the tension in the room, neither of them saying a single word, eyes trained solely on each other. He cleared his throat and spoke in a careful voice, "I'll go and help with Delly."</p>
<p>Anne sunk into one of the chairs, watching Gilbert lean against the surface opposite her, arms still crossed against his chest. They watched each other for a moment, trying to find the words. His face had harden somehow but underneath she could feel the hurt rolling off him in waves, only waves that somehow felt like scalding flames licking at her feet. It felt like a game of chess, both of them standing completely still and open for some kind of attack, waiting for somebody to say<em> checkmate</em>.</p>
<p>"I couldn't sleep last night."</p>
<p>It was a peace offering, a statement that she blurted out in a panic. She hoped that he would understand that she did not come bearing weapons or false intentions, that she was tired of fighting.</p>
<p>He accepted the middle ground, "Me neither."</p>
<p>She truly wanted them to stop fighting, to stop the game that started the moment that she whacked her slate over his head. Maybe it was to find out who was the weakest, who would give up easily and admit defeat. Somewhere along the line they had agreed to keep playing, avoiding what was right in front of them and pretending that the feelings stirring were unfamiliar when perhaps they had been there all along. But as soon as their hearts had gotten involved, the game wasn't fun anymore and she knew that they would both end up losing. But she couldn't stop the anger that was boiling within her, anger that had been within her gut since the day she saw him at the fair with a beautiful woman on his arm. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry for breaking his heart with her cruel words, but that he had been unknowingly breaking her own heart for <em>weeks</em>, letting her believe that they were finally going to be an '<em>us'.</em></p>
<p>"Why didn't you ask me sooner?"</p>
<p>His face looked stricken, eyes wide as if she was asking a question that he had never thought of before and it made her glare at him. "W-What do you-"</p>
<p>She started snapping at him, watching him flinch with every word, "...You had <em>years</em> to ask me something like that, <em>years</em> to give me some kind of indication of your feelings for me, to make me realize that we could be something more than friends. I-I wondered for so long if it was all in my head, or if I had just been reading too much into the way that you looked at me...I-I know that we always argue and that we don't always see eye to eye, but there must be a reason for that! Everyone is right...all we do is make excuses when we could have been on the same page...a long time ago. I-If I had known-"</p>
<p>"What?" he asked, eyebrows raised, "...What would you have done?"</p>
<p>She looked up at him, frowning.</p>
<p>"You know exactly what you would have done..." he argued, eyes turning sharp as her words kept puncturing his chest, "...<em>nothing</em>. I asked you last night and look what happened! Every time that I got closer to you, every time that I tried to make you see things in a different way - <em>you ran away!</em> You have always known and maybe that's why you get scared and run away from it all. But you can't blame everything on me, not when you wouldn't even give us a chance in the first place!"</p>
<p>She let out a bitter laugh, gripping the chair with her hands so that she didn't stand up and smack it across his skull, "...<em>Can't I? </em>What about <em>Winifred</em>, Gilbert? What about when you brought a stranger to the fair with her parents, flaunting her in our faces like you were trying to show off! How do you think that made me feel? Just when I was ready to see if we could be anything more, you danced with her and barely looked at me the entire day, looking like you-"</p>
<p>"How was I supposed to know that-"</p>
<p>She ignored him, continuing on with her words as sharp as knives, "But then you ran after me at the fair, making sure that I was alright instead of staying with your future wife! What were you thinking? I-I might have ran away but maybe that was for a reason! Maybe I was saving both of us from making a mistake and confusing those who didn't need to be hurt by our stupid games-"</p>
<p>"What are you even talking about?" he stiffened.</p>
<p>Her gaze was icy, "What were you doing while your...<em>future wife</em> was in Charlottetown? You were acting as if she didn't even exist when I was around and what was I supposed to do? How could I...What were we doing on Miss Stacey's porch, Gilbert? Huh? <em>What would have happened if I didn't say Winifred's name?"</em></p>
<p>He looked away sharply, jaw clenched.</p>
<p>She let out a shaky breath, voice pained, "<em>That's not fair</em>...it's not fair to be angry at me for being confused when you could have said something <em>a</em> <em>long time ago</em>. We could have...before Winifred came along and before everything got so <em>complicated</em>...you had <em>every</em> opportunity to tell me how you felt. Instead, you came to me late at night when I was drinking and celebrating after the exams, telling me how much<em> she</em> can offer you compared to me and...you just expected me to have all of the answers. <em>What were you expecting? </em>Did you want me to run into your arms and tell you to break her heart just for me? After everything...I-I never even knew that we had a proper chance, that you felt the way you did in spite of-"</p>
<p> "How did...<em>how could you not know?"</em> he practically whimpered, breathing heavily as if he didn't have it in him to fight any longer.</p>
<p>She felt her eyes fill with tears and it took her a moment to realize that instead of feeling angry, she just felt <em>miserable</em>. It tore her apart to argue with him because it was not their usual bickering, not just another game, it made her feel sick because she didn't know if he meant everything to her. She could lose him within a heartbeat and she didn't know if she would be able to handle that, not now. It felt like when she argued with Diana, like she was stuck in a parallel universe because everything just felt so <em>wrong </em>in the world. Her hands began to shake and her breath was labored, everything between them hanging by a single thread and she was so terrified to snap it.</p>
<p>"I...I-I was <em>scared</em>, okay?" she admitted, voice cracking, "...I was terrified of what this could mean and if we would just ruin everything."</p>
<p><em>"I was scared too!"</em> he argued, voice pained, "...I didn't even know what I was doing, I was so confused a-and I just knew I needed to speak to you. I tried to explain and tell you the truth for once, but you...you just yelled at me and made me feel as if I was being foolish for even thinking it. <em>You...y-you broke my heart."</em></p>
<p>Anne's chin wobbled.</p>
<p>His resolve weakened, <em>"I'm sorry...</em>I-I didn't mean to make you feel pressured or scared but I just...I had to say something before I went on with the rest of my life...<em>without saying it."</em></p>
<p>The air around them was thick, filled with everything that they were too scared to say, every card that they had started to lay on the table. In the back of their minds they could both hear Delly crying and Bash trying to soothe her with gentle sounds, they could hear water dripping from somewhere but neither of them even stopped to blink. It felt like a conversation that had been rehearsed once, maybe a thousand times, but their mouths had run dry. Maybe after everything, they had run out of steam. They were stuck in a middle place and neither of them knew where they were supposed to go from there. Anne knew that it was like a game of chess, one wrong move and it could all be over in seconds. If she took a false step or said something wrong, the foundation could have come crumbling down and they would have been left with nothing but dust covering the ground. But she was tired of making excuses and maybe that is why she straightened up in her chair, eyes still filled with tears.</p>
<p><em>"What should we do?"</em> she pleaded, echoing his words from the previous night, this time placing the power in his hands.</p>
<p>His slumped figure straightened up in return, hands gripping the edge of the counter before he slowly started to walk towards her. His hands were now limp and she held her breath as he knelt down in front of her chair, reaching for her hands. She was too weak to push him away, her bruised heart practically begging not to be broken again. When his thumbs ran over her knuckles, she could finally breathe again and he started to extinguish the raging flames that lived within her heart. He was anchoring her in the sea of fire and although his touch was new, it still felt so familiar.</p>
<p>"I..." he started in a quiet voice, everything hanging in the balance for those few seconds, "...this morning, I sent a telegram to Winifred and her family."</p>
<p>Her shoulders slumped. <em>"Oh."</em></p>
<p>His eyes softened slightly, the corner of his lips twitching at the color draining from her face, "...I ended...our...whatever it was."</p>
<p>She tensed up even further, <em>"O-Oh."</em></p>
<p><em>"Yeah"</em> he breathed, fighting a grin at her lack of words. It made his heart balloon in his chest, knowing that he could turn a raging fire into soft running water that practically melted from his touch. A fiery red-head that always had so many words, who was never afraid to tell him when he was wrong, just moments ago, in fact - was speechless.</p>
<p>Anne was afraid to ask the question but she needed to hear the words, to pinch herself soon after and know that it wasn't a dream, "W-Why?"</p>
<p>He smiled knowingly at her.</p>
<p>She couldn't stop her face from falling, "B-But, Gilbert-</p>
<p><em>"I don't want to hear it..."</em> he shook his head, squeezing her hands tighter to reassure himself that she wasn't about to run away, that he would never let her run away again, "...I don't want to hear another word about how...how we won't work out or that you don't want me giving everything up for you."</p>
<p>"Y-You-"</p>
<p>"I was wrong last night...to say that I would be ruining everything by changing my mind. It would be a life that I could never want and not just because it would mean losing you...don't you get it, Anne? I could never marry someone that wasn't you, I could never trick myself into believing that I would ever be happy with someone else, to marry for anything other than <em>love."</em></p>
<p>Her breath caught in her throat. "I-I..."</p>
<p><em>"It always has been..."</em> his smile was sad, almost regretful as if he was cursing himself for not realizing sooner, <em>"...and always will be</em>, <em>you."</em></p>
<p>Anne's lips parted.</p>
<p>"No more excuses, right?" he huffed a laugh.</p>
<p>She managed a nod.</p>
<p>He couldn't stop the smile from melting across his face, eyes lighting up, "<em>Anne?</em> Has your brain stopped working?"</p>
<p><em>"You would marry me?"</em> she squeaked.</p>
<p> Gilbert chuckled, raising his eyebrows and looking down at where their hands were still intertwined, "I didn't mean to completely scare you off, you know. Are you going to run away again?"</p>
<p>"We might end up killing each other" Anne blurted out.</p>
<p>He shrugged playfully, "I would prefer if we didn't."</p>
<p>"G-Gilbert..." she breathed.</p>
<p>While she sat there and inwardly panicked, eyes darting between his as if she was trying to work out if he was tricking her, he tried his best to be patient. He continued his soothing yet simultaneously maddening caress over her knuckles, hoping that it would stop her from needing to pinch herself just to make sure that it was all real. He was hoping that the longing that was left in his eyes, longing that had always been there since the very first day, would tell her everything that she needed to know. She did not make him wait long and when she got a grip on her own thoughts, her hands slipped out from under his and landed on his cheeks. <em>Oh god</em> - it was as if they had switched and <em>his </em>brain had suddenly stopped working as her lips pressed against his, <em>so sure</em> and <em>certain</em> that he almost wanted to cry. As his mouth slanted against hers and stole a breath that left her practically gasping in return, she wondered what she had been so confused about. She felt like a fool to sit there and worry if they should take the next step that had been waiting there for them all along, just waiting for them to leap hand in hand - especially as Gilbert's warm fingers curled around her waist and dug into her hips as if they were always meant to be there. If he wasn't running the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip, the one that was swollen with all of her confused thoughts, she would have thrown her head back and laughed at the idea of them just <em>giving up</em>. It seemed utterly ridiculous for her to wish for a future that didn't have Gilbert Blythe by her side, always there to tease her and steer her on the right path, to never be selfish or to hold her back from any dream that her heart wished for. It all became clear to her in that moment, that just because she couldn't always <em>see </em>the future that was in front of them, it didn't mean that it wasn't always <em>there</em>.</p>
<p>Her fingers were left woven into his dark curls, tangling and smoothing out the beautifully chaotic mess, feeling Gilbert press himself closer to her with every touch. He was melting in her embrace and she couldn't stop smiling against his lips at the thought of how vulnerable he had always allowed himself to be around her. It was a privilege that she would never take for granted again. When they finally pulled away, gasping for air, he rested his forehead on her own and let his eyes flutter closed as if he could finally be sure that she wasn't going to run away from him. After a moment there was a crease that appeared between his eyebrows, a thought that she knew all too well and she pressed her lips to the spot so that it would disappear.</p>
<p>His eyes popped open, filled with a question, "A-Anne-"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I love you."</em>
</p>
<p>Just like that, his eyes fluttered closed once more and their noses brushed together gently as he mumbled happily, <em>"...That's nice."</em></p>
<p>She giggled, "Is that <em>all</em> you have to say?"</p>
<p><em>"Forgive me..."</em> he teased, looking at her with an undeniable heat in his hazel orbs, "...I can't really think straight right now."</p>
<p>Anne flickered his forehead.</p>
<p><em>"Ouch!"</em> he frowned, glaring at her.</p>
<p>Her smile was innocent enough, "To get your brain working again."</p>
<p>"I hate you."</p>
<p>After leaving another soft kiss on his lips, letting her thumb brush just above <em>that splendid</em> chin when she pulled away, she looked at him in a new way, perhaps the way that he had always looked at her. With all of the love in her heart, she uttered breathlessly, <em>"I think we just established that is a complete and utter lie."</em></p>
<p>...</p>
<p>The next day, there was a spring in her step and she felt as if she was floating in midair instead of firmly planting her feet on the ground. Although she was certain of the direction that they were heading in, there was a magical aura around it all that still made her wonder if she was dreaming. The world around her somehow seemed more colorful : the sky a deeper shade of blue, sun burning brighter than ever before, the snow queen sprouting fresh buds that she would soon feel blossoming beneath her fingertips. Every little detail within the world that she so dearly cherished, it simply grew more beautiful overnight. When Gilbert saw her approaching his door and put down the fresh logs for a moment, she could notice it all as he got closer. His curls were spun into a richer shade of dark chocolate, eyes glowing as if they were made out of stardust themselves, cheeks as red as the sweet apples that he grew in his orchard. As a warm smile melted across his face, she knew that he felt it too. Maybe the world had grown a little more beautiful just for them.</p>
<p>"Hi" he whispered.</p>
<p>She whispered her own greeting in reply, worried that their little bubble would burst if the world could hear them. "Hi."</p>
<p>"Why are you here?" he asked gently, eyes shining with hope.</p>
<p>Her nerve was lost within seconds, hands turning fidgety as she reached down into the basket that she had carried on her arm. She pulled the cloth back to reveal the sweet treats that she had begged Marilla to bake, rushing over to the Blythe household at her first opportunity in her favorite dress, "I...I, uh - <em>plum puffs."</em></p>
<p>"Plum puffs?" he raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>She nodded quickly, "Marilla wanted me to bring these over for you...for <em>all</em> <em>of you. </em>Especially since Mrs Lacroix is now living with you, she thought that it would be a welcoming gift of sorts."</p>
<p>He felt his grin widening. "Is that all?"</p>
<p>"She also wanted to formally welcome Mrs Lacroix into the community and to let you all know that you can visit anytime", Anne began to stumble over her words and study her shoes,"...It r-really doesn't matter when and I just thought I would save her some time by delivering these uh...in person."</p>
<p>"That's the only reason?"</p>
<p>She nodded quickly, a tight smile on her lips.</p>
<p>He gently lifted a finger and curled it around her chin so that she was forced to meet his eyes, <em>"No more excuses, remember?"</em></p>
<p><em>"And I wanted to see you" </em>she finally admitted.</p>
<p>His nod seemed to signify that he was satisfied with her answer and before she could even react, his arm coiled around her waist and easily sent her stumbling into him. She opened her mouth to protest but his lips were already on hers, soft and passionate, yet only there for a short moment. When he pulled away she could barely think of a single word to say, but luckily he seemed to know exactly what they both wanted.</p>
<p>"Do you want me to walk you home?"</p>
<p>It surprised her how natural all of this felt, how Gilbert seemed to expertly hide whatever nerves he may have been feeling, the patience within his voice letting her know that he would always give her a choice.</p>
<p>She finally let her smile take over, <em>"Please."</em></p>
<p>They fell into step so easily, walking side by side like they always had done, as if nothing had changed at all. Perhaps beyond the surface, not much had changed between them : the same longing looks exchanged, cheeks flushed from more than just the summer breeze, the same warmth tucked in the space right beside their hearts. Anne knew that she would spend the rest of her life walking with Gilbert Blythe beside her and she could only hope that every time felt the same, just as maddening and exhilarating, like she was splashing around in waves that would always bring her safely back to shore. After a few moments, his hand that swung between them decided to grab hers, linking their fingers together in a way that felt so<em> right</em>. In another universe she would have rambled about her fears of being caught by Mrs Lynde, gossip being spread and questions being asked that she did not yet have the answers to. But she forced her brain to stay quiet, whispering to it sweetly - <em>not today</em>.  </p>
<p>"What's going on in that mind of yours?" he bumped his shoulder against hers, a knowing look in his eye.</p>
<p>She shook her head, smiling up at him, "I'm forcing it to be quiet for once."</p>
<p>They spent the rest of the walk letting their hearts ramble, spilling their secrets and whispering things that they had held onto for so many years. The entire time, Gilbert didn't let go of her hand and it already felt like it would soon become the only arrow pointing her home. She had found herself unable to sleep after they kissed, this time smiling into her pillow so hard that she was almost worried her lips would forever be stuck in such a state. She simply replayed every single moment and lay there wondering if Gilbert was having the same trouble (he most definitely was). But as they walked home, it all felt so real and she didn't want to waste another second trying to convince herself that she wasn't dreaming. Instead she hang onto every word that left his lips, letting herself smile as wide as she could, her eyes turning softer with every second that she looked at him, letting him steal a kiss whenever he could. Anne knew that she no longer had to fret in her own head and search for answers that she didn't have herself. Instead she squeezed his hand as soon as they reached the gate to Green Gables, as if asking, <em>are you sure?,</em> to which Gilbert squeezed her hand even tighter in return, <em>I've always been sure. </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>you can all stop hating me now! </p>
<p>- jodie</p>
<p>p.s. I'm planning on making a series of shirbert scenarios surrounding them at college and the ups and downs that they go through. If you have any specific requests that you haven't really seen before, please leave them in the comments below and I'll add them to the series coming soon!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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